Bitter Ashes
by xReicheru-chanx
Summary: Yuuki Cross is going to go insane, imprisoned for her own safety. All the promises she's made, all her love for Zero and Kaname... The choice is tearing her apart. Will she be able to choose... before her two loves end up killing each other?
1. Chapter 1: Shards and Sunlight

**Author's Notes: Reader beware, this is my first Fanfiction story that I'm actually putting up on the site… so it probably won't be so great. In addition, I'm writing this whole thing listening to Nox Arcana, namely their song 'Bitter Ashes' (hence the title), which reminds me very much of Yuuki. I would recommend looking it up if you don't mind dark, scary-type awesome music. :P There may also bits and pieces inspired by other songs in here… if you find them all, give yourself a cookie.**

**Spoiler Warning: This work of fiction begins roughly seven months after the part of the manga where Zero vows to kill all the purebloods, he kisses Yuuki, Yuuki makes a bad life decision and leaves with Kaname, blah blah blah. If you have not yet read to that part, don't blame me for ruining the story/your life, please.**

**Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Vampire Knight, or any of Matsuri Hino's characters. If I did in fact own the manga, I would have killed off Kaname rather violently. He irritates me.**

-x-

Shards of glass littered the floor, glinting faintly in the meager sunlight that made its way through the floor-length curtains drawn tightly across the only window in the room. It was a very large window, stretching from ceiling to ground and spanning several feet across. Parallel to the massive window was an equally oversized mirror. Or should it be said, the _frame_ of a mirror. In a brief fit of anger, Yuuki Cross had thrown her silver hairbrush at the reflective surface, effectively breaking it into hundreds of sharp pieces.

The pureblooded vampire stood in the middle of the poorly-lit room, dressed in her nightgown, staring at the palm of her hand. Blood poured from a deep gash there, probably caused by one of the pieces of glass that had flown everywhere. As Yuuki watched, new skin spread over the cut, and the flow of lifeblood ceased. She bent to pick up a particularly jagged shard of the mirror, knee-length hair trailing on the floor as she did so. When Yuuki straightened back up, she very deliberately drew the sharp edge along her palm, reopening the injury. It healed again. She cut herself again.

A worried knock on the door shattered the silence. "Yuuki-sama, are you alright?"

Yuuki sighed and dropped the now-bloody piece of the mirror. "Yes, Aidou... I'm fine," she lied. And it was obvious that she was lying, for Aidou could definitely smell her blood from the other side of the door. Still, she heard his retreating footsteps to the end of the hallway outside her room.

The cut on Yuuki's hand was slower to heal this time. As she walked over to the window, blood dripped down onto the carpet and splinters of glass that she didn't bother to step around. With both hands, she pulled the dark red curtains to either side. Light flooded the room. The vampire narrowed her eyes against the harsh glare of the sun, but otherwise showed no reaction to the anathematic brightness. She drew the curtains closed again, but didn't let go of the folds of cloth grasped tightly in her hands. Instead, she leaned slightly forward, resting her forehead against those hands. Hands that she could barely recognize as her own anymore.

Ever since that day nearly seven months ago, nothing had been the same.

Memories of that time had constantly haunted the girl for weeks. Remembering her early life, becoming a pureblooded vampire, leaving her home and … friends… behind. There was one friend in particular that she had to avoid thinking about. Because if she did, the tears would all start flowing again at once. Yuuki didn't want to cry any more. Crying was exhausting, crying made Kaname-sama upset when he was home, and she had given up everything to follow Kaname-sama. So crying was a bad idea, if only for the reason that it was against everything that she had done to be here, locked away in this hidden mansion in this hidden forest, waited on hand and foot by the former Night Class. But if she kept herself from the tears, from the memories, the only thing left was the loneliness and the numbness. Was feeling pain better than feeling nothing at all?

Yuuki let go of the curtains and fell to her knees, holding her face in her hands. How could she keep living like this? Always at a crossroads, held in place by so many promises that she could never keep. A four-year old vampire, promising to be like her mother, and marry her brother. An older human, promising to always be by her best friend's side, so that he didn't have to face all his pain alone…

The pureblood shook her head. If anything, she had only ever added to his pain.

She needed to stop thinking about him _now_, before her feelings betrayed her. If Yuuki started to think about her fellow disciplinary committee member, her traitorous feelings would make her remember the way his silver hair shone in the moonlight, the feeling of his arms around her, his lips on hers…

Oh, the pain of betraying someone you love…

Miles away, Zero Kiryuu held a gun to his head.

-x-

**Ooh, a cliffhanger on the first chapter? Of my first story? I'm such an evil author. It's such a short chapter, too… oh well; I'll probably have a new one up later today or tomorrow. If I don't die from being sick. X_x" Yes, this chapter is brought to you by: Reicheru's diseased mind. Next time, I'll try to write something that's actually longer than the author's notes…**


	2. Chapter 2: Assignment

**Author's Notes: Ah, chapter two… it's time to kill that suspense from the cliffhanger, no? Reader beware, this might be a bit short/poorly written, because parental controls is turning my computer off in two and a half hours and I want to get this in today… Curse parental controls. And speaking of cursing, Zero is probably going to do quite a bit of it throughout the story. It's what the T rating was for, along with upcoming violence. I personally don't swear, but Zero would probably murder me if I censored him. Reader beware, I probably overstated the Headmaster's craziness. He's acting somewhat insane… just imagine him as a chibi or something. :P**

**Zero: STOP CENSORING ME, D*** IT!**

**Me: We haven't even started the story! D: Shut up!**

**Zero: No. .**

**Me: You're so cute when you're angry… which is pretty much all the time…**

**Zero: *shoots at the author***

**Me: WAAAAAH! On with the story… before I get killed.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight or any characters in the manga. If I did, Zero would be shirtless more often. AH! *runs from a certain angry vampire, who happens to own a gun***

-x-

_I could just shoot… right now. And everything would be over._

Zero's index finger tensed, ready to pull the trigger.

He honestly wanted to shoot, and just end his misery right there. But he remembered a time once before, when he had been sitting in this exact place, with the Bloody Rose held to his temple, prepared to shoot. Yuuki had opened the door, and literally tackled him to save his life.

But Yuuki would never walk through that door again… unless she wanted to die.

He sighed and dropped the gun on his bed. _Damn it… _he thought. Why had he had to say something so stupid, that day? What had possessed him to threaten to kill_ Yuuki_, of all people? Yuuki, who tried her best to be kind to him, who gave him her own blood to keep him alive, who he would never admit that he loved.

This train of thought was making Zero feel thirstier than usual. He reached over and opened his nightstand drawer, taking out a box of blood tablets. It was only half full. Zero opened it and tilted his head back, pouring the entire contents of the box into his mouth without even bothering to get some water.

They tasted TERRIBLE, but that wouldn't stop him from scarfing down an entire box every day. Zero glanced out his window. Which class was he missing now? It didn't really matter to him, but the Headmaster would probably chew him out later. For some reason, it was important to Cross that his 'adorable son' graduate from high school. Or at least finish his grade. But what did a high school diploma matter in the world of vampire hunters? Nothing. At all.

Speak of the devil… there was a knock on the door, and Kaien Cross himself burst into the room in all his annoying glory - without waiting for an answer.

"Get out." Zero growled. It would have scared any other person at the Academy away, but the Headmaster was used to his adorable son's griping and groaning.

"I will not! And don't talk to your FATHER in that tone, young man! ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE IN TROUBLE!" Cross was as overly exuberant as usual. His attitude only served to irritate Zero even further.

"You. Are. Not. My. Father." he said for what must have been the hundredth time. No, the thousandth time.

The Headmaster facepalmed. "So, Kiryuu… is there a reason that you're skipping classes again?"

Zero leaned against the wall, as if bored. "I didn't feel like going."

"I see… so you're missing Yuuki again." Kaien's eyes teared over. "I MISS HER TOOOOOO!"

The vampire nearly exploded on the spot. "I do _not_ miss pureblooded leeches," he said indignantly.

"OH, HOW I WISH THAT MY ADORABLE CHILDREN COULD BE REUNITED!" the Headmaster wailed. Zero threw the empty box of blood tablets at him. It hit the older man on the head, and he fell over backwards. Cross sat up, rubbing a new sore spot on his tender scalp. "Oh, Zero… by the way… some new orders came from the Hunter's Association."

Zero perked up instantly. Killing vampires distracted him from his pain more than anything, so he jumped at any chance to go on the hunt. "Let me see."

The Headmaster pulled out a stack of papers from somewhere (?) and handed them to the vampire hunter. While Zero looked over them, Cross apparently felt the need to explain them aloud. He stood before beginning the monologue.

"As you know, Kaname Kuran eliminated the Senate several months ago," Kaien paused, because Zero had had a semi-violent spasm at the mention of Kaname Kuran. "Anyways," he continued, "since a large number of noble vampires were destroyed, a large number of their servants became uncontrollable. Namely Level D and Level E's."

Zero nodded, making no comment.

"The Hunter's Association recently discovered that a residence in town is full of vampires that were previously under the control of one of the now-deceased Senate members. It has been confirmed that the Level E's have been magically bound as to be unable to leave the home. However, that bond is fading rapidly now that the noble vampire in charge of them has been killed. The Association wants you to eliminate these Level E's before they become a problem. They can't spare any other hunters to come to your aid. You will face this assignment alone."

Zero shrugged.

"…. There's one more, um, _little_ detail."

"What." asked the vampire, in a flat tone that made it seem more like a statement than an answer.

"… well…"

"Spit it out, old man."

"I am NOT old!" the Headmaster said angrily, and then patted his forehead as if checking for wrinkles.

The silver-haired teenager replaced his gun in its holster on the inside of his Cross Academy uniform jacket, and stood up.

"Well. Anyways… you're going to need to, err, rescue a couple hostages from the basement."

Zero raised an eyebrow. "Hostages?"

"Um, yes… you see, the noble in charge of the house appears to have kidnapped a few of the children of other nobles and such to insure their cooperation. There's supposed to be three of them in total, and they're all locked in a basement area."

"Whatever. I'll help the bloodsucker leechlings as long as plenty of Level E's die tonight." Zero started out the door.

"Kiryuu, you're going right NOW!"

"Yeah. See you later."

"But I arranged a family dinner! And I invited Kaname Kuran, so that it could be-"

Zero Kiryuu slammed the door behind him. There was no way in HELL that he was going to eat dinner with Kaname Kuran. At least, without shooting that bastard in the face.

"… a peace-treaty dinner…" mumbled the Headmaster. Oh well… it wasn't exactly a 'family dinner' if a non-relative was there. But WAS Kaname a relative now, considering that he was Yuuki's brother? That almost made Zero and Kaname _brothers_… Cross shook that thought out of his mind. It was too weird, even for _his_ brain. He looked down at the empty box of blood tablets that his sort-of-adoptive-son had thrown, and picked it up. His expression became deadly serious.

"Oh, Kiryuu…" he muttered to himself. "I'm afraid you'll be thirsty for a long, long time… unless… hmm." Cross put the box in his jacket pocket, then ambled out of the room, plotting to himself.

-x-

The sun was setting by the time Zero Kiryuu stood in front of the condemned house full of Level E's, double-checking the address on his assignment papers. This was the place. The hunter stuffed the orders inside one of his pockets, and took out his gun. The Bloody Rose glinted silver in the dying sunlight.

Without warning, the door opened. A lone figure stood there, looking horribly disfigured. It had to be a Level E. Zero took aim at it, but refrained from shooting in case the thing proved to be sane.

"FARGLE NARGLE SMARGLE GARGLE!" roared the whatever-it-was as it launched into a dead run at the hunter.

Yeah, it was insane. Zero shot it point-blank through the heart, and the Level E crumbled to ashes in the wind. From the open door emanated a faint string of whispers, as if the shadows themselves were speaking. It would have scared any other person in town, but not Zero Kiryuu – the vampire hunter with nothing to lose. He strode towards the doorway. Another Level E appeared to block his path, but it was dead a moment later. A wisp of smoke wafted from the business end of the Bloody Rose.

In the entryway of the house, another stupid vampire launched itself at what simply looked like food. However, it was shot between the eyes, and disintegrated into a smear of dust on the wall. Zero kept walking, unfazed.

When he entered the main living room, there were four more Level E's waiting for him. Not literally waiting, just standing around. One was dead before they noticed the hunter. One was shot as they began to run towards him. The other was killed halfway to its target. The last one attempted to claw at Zero's face with long, unkempt nails. But the silver-haired vampire merely stepped aside, and shot the monster through the temple. Blood splattered the floor as the last Level E crumbled.

There was silence.

Zero took the crumpled orders out of his pocket. _Only seven… what the hell. If they went through the trouble of counting the damn vampires, why didn't they just kill the things then?_

He stuffed the papers back into his jacket, and kept walking. Next to the living room, there was a set of stairs going up, and another going down. Zero took the set going downwards, following the logic that down = basement. Unfortunately, there were still some pathetic leeches to rescue. If only he could just kill those too…

At the foot of the stairs was a metal door, apparently reinforced. The hunter kicked it. Nothing happened. So… he shot the doorknob off. Apparently, that worked, because the door opened slightly inwards. Zero kicked it again to open it the rest of the way, causing it to slam against whatever wall was inside the doorway.

"Come out, vampires, hands over your head. I don't feel like getting in trouble with the Association for shooting someone I wasn't supposed to tonight."

Three pairs of eyes shone out of the darkness. Zero pointed the Bloody Rose at them. "Out. Now. Or I'll assume you're all Level E's."

"Shoot. I dare you." came a bitter-sounding female voice. "End our existences. We'll be killed anyways."

"Yes…" echoed a vampire that could have been male or female. "We know that Kuran killed off the council. The Level D's told us before they went mad."

"We… will die too." The smallest voice sounded like a young child. But Zero wouldn't be fooled – a childlike vampire might be decades old.

"You have five seconds to get out before I shoot, dammit!" he yelled. "OUT. NOW."

A frightened five-year old with blonde hair stumbled out of the room as if shoved, followed by a teenage redheaded boy. The last vampire stayed inside.

"Two seconds."

"Reicheru, you _baka_…" groaned Redhead, and he reached back into the darkness, apparently grabbing the last prisoner's hand and pulling her out of the dungeon. This final captive appeared to be a year or two younger than Zero, and rather resembled Senri Shiki from the former Night Class.

The hunter shrugged. "Alright, leeches, single file. Out the door." He glared at each one as they walked past. The defiant girl glared back, so he poked her with his gun. Zero followed them warily out the door, keeping an eye out to make sure there were no surprises. No more Level E's leapt from the shadows, and the three young vampire nobles knew enough not to try to run off. They would be dead before getting far.

-x-

**Ohsnap, fifteen minutes before parental controls shuts me down. I better hurry and upload this, yo. Oh, sorry Perry the Platypus, I didn't mean to go all street on you there. What the heck was THAT? **

**Yes, I put myself in the story. Don't worry; Reicheru isn't very important at all in the main plot. In fact, she's a relatively minor character. So don't freak out or anything… it's just a result of me wanting to be a vampire. Rawr.**


	3. Chapter 3: Duct Tape Can Fix Anything

**Author's Notes: 'Twas a failure, that Chapter Two! I was pressed for time – alas! – and the quality suffered greatly. And now to apologize to thine, I'm going to stop talking like Shakespeare. But seriously, the second chapter failed for numerous reasons. I was rushing my writing, I'm a crazy person, and I couldn't stay in my "serious" mood. I got too silly because of the dumb Chairman/Headmaster/whatever the crap he's called… Let's hope I can manage to save some sense of non-insanity in this chapter…**

**Random Exclamation: WHAAA, I think they used Pandora's Music Box somewhere in the anime for the soundtrack… it sounds so familiar… **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight, or any characters created by the great and honorable Matsuri Hino. However, I do sort-of own all other random people that pop up. So don't steal them. **

-x-

Headmaster Cross sipped his tea quietly, and then set it down on the table. Well, on a saucer on the table. _Why do teacups always come with their own little plates?_ he wondered… Alas – that was a question for another time. There were more pressing matters to deal with.

"So… how has Yuuki been?" asked the Chairman, in his typically overzealous tone.

The dark-haired vampire sitting across from him had not even touched his tea. "She's fine," he lied. "But I should be getting home soon… I don't want Yuuki to feel lonely."

In less serious company, the Headmaster would have burst into a tearful, but joyful tirade about how thoughtful Kaname was. But now was not the time. "I suppo—"

Cross' statement was cut short by the sudden opening of the front door. Three rather bedraggled children stumbled in, followed by a certain very angry-looking vampire hunter. In fact, he looked positively murderous, glaring at the pureblood (who happened to be sitting in _his_ chair at the table_..._).

"Oh! Kiryuu, you're back already?" exclaimed the Headmaster. "Here, come take a seat!"

"No," growled the very scary vampire.

"Suit yourself! Kaname and I are having a grand tea party! Aren't we, Kaname?"

"… actually, Chairman Cross, I'm afraid I must leave even earlier than I intended. It seems that Kiryuu has brought in more work for me…" he glanced at the three unhappy-looking prisoners that had been ushered in by Zero. "I'll need to… take care of them before going home."

The kids didn't look very thrilled at that prospect. The smallest vampire –who appeared to be five years old – started to sob.

"Take care," the pureblood said to Cross as he stood. Kaname ignored Zero completely, despite the hunter's petrifying glare. Kuran merely looked at the three former prisoners and said "Follow", and they fell into line behind him.

Zero became even _more_ irritated, if possible. _Damn pureblood…_ he thought. Before the 'damn pureblood' got to the doorway, the silver-haired hunter decided to walk towards the table as if the other vampires weren't in his path. They actually had to step out of his way – even Kaname Kuran.

The pureblood should have slapped Kiryuu for his insolence. But he refrained from doing so only out of politeness for the Headmaster. It wasn't exactly proper to go around slapping people when you're a guest in the house. However, Kaname did not refrain from glaring at the teenager before he walked out the door – vampire fugitives in tow.

The Headmaster threw his cup of tea at his adorable son. It smacked Zero in the face, spilling all over the place, before falling to the ground and breaking into tiny little pieces.

"YOU WERE SO RUDE TO OUR SPECIAL GUEST!" he wailed! "KANAME WAS SO KIND TO COME AND HAVE TEA WHEN HE'S SO BUSY!"

"_Never _praise that bastard to my face…" Zero snarled, menace lacing his voice, and stormed out. There was an almost palpable cloud of dark anger left in the room. Cross sighed, thinking to himself that he had handled that situation in a rather bad way.

-x-

While her fiancée was out having tea with the Headmaster, Yuuki was screaming.

Sitting in the corner of her room, curled into the fetal position, she had been wailing for half an hour at least. Outside her room, the former Night Class was trying to decide what to do to stop this before their master came home.

"We could… duct tape her mouth shut…"

"Stupid Ruka! Stop suggesting things that include duct tape!"

"Kaname-sama would be angry at us if we used duct tape…"

"I think I already established that, Kain."

"Well, _I'm_ not going to just stand here arguing until Kaname-sama gets here!" Ruka turned away from Aidou and Kain, and opened the door. She didn't even knock.

"RUKA!" Aidou protested, and leapt forward to yank the heavy door shut again. "You can't just walk in like that!"

"Watch me." she growled, and shoved Hanabusa out of her way. The angry noble pushed the door open again, and walked in. "ALRIGHT YUUKI-SAMA… wha… what the _hell_ happened in here?" Ruka looked around at the ground, which was still littered with fragments of the broken mirror.

Akatsuki peered into the room. "It looks like Yuuki-sama broke something."

Aidou jumped into the room on his tiptoes, plugging his ears, and tried not to step on any glass. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU! YUUKI-SAMA IS TOO LOUD!"

Ruka facepalmed, and walked over to the screaming pureblood. "Yuuki-sama, you need to stop…"

It didn't seem like she took any notice of her three attendants.

Kain sighed, and spoke louder so that the others might actually hear him. "YUUKI-SAMA BROKE SOMETHING."

"NO DUH!" yelled Aidou.

It was all so confusing and loud. The nobles kept stepping on glass, and it pierced through the soles of their shoes. For several more minutes, they tried in vain to calm Yuuki down. No matter what they said, she wouldn't stop her screams. It was like she didn't even know they were there. The three were so intent on getting her to please, _please,_ stop, that they didn't notice when a tall, dark figure appeared in the doorway.

"Yuuki…"muttered Kaname Kuran as he walked across the little sea of glass, ignoring the painful splinters in his feet. The three noble vampires, alarmed at the sudden entrance of their master, backed several feet away from Yuuki and bowed to the two purebloods.

Ruka hoped that Kaname-sama hadn't overheard any of her duct tape suggestions.

Yuuki, of course, was still screaming bloody murder. Kaname knelt in front of her, and gently touched his hand to her forehead. Almost instantly, the crazy girl fell asleep.

The former Night Class blinked in awe.

The pureblood sighed, and carefully picked up his fiancée, as if she were something fragile that might shatter at the slightest touch. He carried her over to the small bed in the corner of the room, set her down, and pulled the crimson sheets over her. The three nobles stood in place, like statues. Afraid to move.

Kaname spoke to them without looking away from Yuuki. "Once she wakes up, tell her I'll be back tomorrow evening." He started towards the door, but paused and looked back at his three minions. "And clean up this… mess," the pureblood gestured at the broken fragments of mirror that still covered the floor. So then he left, allowing Ruka, Akatsuki, and Aidou to their own devices.

-x-

**SPECIAL BONUS CHAPTER: A HOLE IN THE WALL…**

"ZEROOOO! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"

"Because I'm freaking PISSED OFF, if you haven't noticed."

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN PUNCH A HOLE THROUGH THE WALL!" the Headmaster wailed, tears practically shooting from his eyes. "DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE IT'S GOING TO BE TO FIX THIS?"

"Not my problem."

"YES IT IS, KIRYUU! THIS IS _TOTALLY_ YOUR PROBLEM!" Cross was practically screaming at the top of his lungs now. The racket had drawn a small crowd from the rest of the boys' Sun Dorm, and the students were all staring in amazement as the fist-sized hole that _someone_ had made in the wall. And since that hole connected the hallway to Zero Kiryuu's room, logic followed that that _someone_ was him.

Zero glared at the group of curious bystanders. "Get the HELL away from my room."

The majority of teenagers ran away at once. However, a very foolish/brave few stayed behind a few more seconds to gesture rudely at the silver-haired vampire, and THEN ran for their lives.

Headmaster Cross shook his head sadly. "You're going to pay for repairs, Kiryuu…"

Zero shrugged. He didn't exactly _care_…

"… and UNTIL this wall is fixed, you're going to have a peephole into your room."

… Every fangirl for miles around readied their cameras.

-x-

** Oh dear, I fear that I've been too silly again… gahhhhh! Notes to self: add more scary things, make less jokes, force the Headmaster to calm down, never give Ruka duct tape (EVER), put in more detail, make everything more like the first chapter (the first chapter was better than number 2 and this one combined. X_x")….. Alrighty, prepare for some SERIOUS SCARY in the next chapter…**

** Um, I can't live without my little funnies… so sometimes, I guess I'll add a little bonus passage at the end of the chapter, like I did here. Will that work, or will my silliness defy containment? Oh, woe…**


	4. Chapter 4: Pureblooded Slave Traders

**Freakin' Author's Note: *insert sigh here*… I do wish people would review. If thirty-seven people read my story, and three review, I'm going to assume that those other 34 completely hated the entire thing and neglected to share their opinion because they think my words are a waste of space on the interwebz. Okay, probably not. But it's still worrying. I feed upon reviews… don't starve me to death.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. If I did, Rima and Shiki would be married. They're so adorable together… (: **

-x-

Somewhere in the mansion, a music box was playing.

It had a very beautiful, but somehow eerie sound, somehow reminding one of fragile things. Like glass, or ice. Or snow.

Yuuki was still in bed that evening, staring at the ceiling above her as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Actually, it was pretty boring. The entire _building_ was pretty boring, actually. The other things that were different about this night than any of the last dozen or so was the steady rhythm of raindrops pattering on the roof, and the strange music box. Yuuki didn't mind, though – the sounds were very pretty, and the rain suited her melancholy mood.

There came a hesitant knock on the door, and the absentminded pureblood didn't answer it. So the person on the other side of the door, Ruka, opened it cautiously.

"Ah. You're awake, Yuuki-sama…" the ash-blonde vampire stated, hiding the venom that she wanted to add to the '_-sama_'. "Kaname-sama instructed that you be informed that he will be returning later this evening." And with that, Ruka left.

Yuuki frowned slightly, the only expression to cross her face in hours. Ever since she had regained her vampire powers, she had been more… perceptive. Especially towards the feelings of others. And now, Yuuki could tell that Ruka definitely did _not_ like her. At all. It was like there was some sort of looming, '_Anti-Yuuki_' aura around the blonde vampire. It was actually quite scary. The pureblood's thoughts turned to Kaname, and how he would be 'returning' later. _Returning from where?_ Yuuki wondered. However, it was probably best that she didn't know most of what Kaname did out in the Night World… right?

-x-

It so happened that as his fiancée was pondering what he was up to, that Kaname Kuran was standing outside the imposing building that Sara Shirabuki had taken up as residence. Inside, he knew, there would also be a host of Level D vampires – along with his old friend, Ichijou Takuma.

Behind Kaname stood three younger, rather nervous vampires – the same three that Zero Kiryuu had 'rescued' from the basement of a deceased noble's home. However, it seemed that the trio's looming fate would be far worse than if they had just starved to death in that dungeon. Kaname walked confidently up to the door, subordinates following silently behind him, and rang the doorbell. It was answered by one of Sara's young attendants, who stared at the pureblood like he was some kind of anomaly.

"May I speak with Miss Shirabuki-sama?" asked Kaname with an utterly fake, yet charming smile.

The maid blinked, nodded, and went off to find her pureblood mistress. After about a minute, she came back, and invited Kaname into the residence. She lead him through a few empty rooms, and then up a flight of stairs to what appeared to be a sort of upstairs living room. There, Sara Shirabuki herself reclined on a white sofa, as her vampiric servants scurried around cleaning and doing menial chores. Kaname scanned the room for Ichijou, and spotted him sitting in a relatively dark corner (and he was reading manga - Sailor Moon, of all things!). It was _relatively_ dark, because the entire room was decked out in the same shade of white – as pure as winter's first snow.

"Ah, Kaname-sama… so nice of you to visit me," Sara smiled her poisonous smile, and motioned for her fellow pureblood to sit in one of the snowy-white seats arranged around a central glass coffee table. He chose the one across from Sara, and sat down. The three vampire hostage-children awkwardly stood a few feet behind and to his right, unsure of what they were supposed to do.

"It's always a pleasure, Miss Sara-sama," he lied smoothly.

"And who are… these three?" she inquired, gesturing an elegant hand at the nervous trio of children. "Have you brought some presents for me? It's not even my birthday."

"Close," Kaname chuckled under his breath. "I've actually come seeking a trade."

Miss Sara, who had never been one to beat around the bush, was immediately interested – though she didn't show it. "A trade? Kaname-sama, what sort of thing do you trade people for?"

"Other people, of course," he replied, glancing at the oblivious Ichijou in the corner.

"Oh, so you've come to take my dear Takuma away?" Sara laughed. "You're going to need to offer a very good trade, Kaname-sama. I've grown quite fond of him."

"A three-for-one trade is nothing to sneeze at, Sara-sama," he chided in a playful tone, but his eyes were serious.

"And… just who are you intending to trade, I wonder?"

Kaname smiled grimly, and gestured casually to each prisoner as he named them. "The smallest is Akira Sato, the redhead is called Kenji Nakamura, and the girl is Reicheru Shiki."

Sara raised one elegant eyebrow. "Shiki, you say?"

The pureblood sitting across from her nodded solemnly.

"Giving away your own cousin, my dear Kaname? My, my, you sure are desperate for Ichijou…" she mused. "A three-for-one trade is a considerable gain, as you mentioned… very well, I accept. Your blonde friend was beginning to bore me, anyways. All he wants to do is read all day… Takuma!"

Ichijou, startled, looked up and finally noticed that Kaname was in the room. A wide grin broke across his ever-cheerful face.

"TAKUMA! Come here!" Sara rolled her eyes as her own prisoner got up and walked over to the purebloods. "Really, he's so slow… " she muttered under her breath. "Anyways. Takuma, you will be leaving with Kaname Kuran today."

Ichijou blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously," snapped his superior. "I wouldn't say it if I wasn't serious. You're so _slow_ sometimes… all the time…" she sighed. Though she would never admit it, Sara really was going to miss her _dear_ Takuma… but the prospective gain from this trade was too much to resist.

By some invisible signal, the trio of childlike vampires walked across the room to Sara Shirabuki, and Ichijou practically skipped over to Kaname.

Miss Sara tilted her head, gazing somewhat sadly at Ichijou. "Takuma…" she began.

The blonde vampire looked at his former prison-keeper, wondering what final words she would say to him.

"… I'd like my manga back."

-x-

Yuuki sighed in annoyance as she tried to brush her hair. She'd been at it for five minutes now, and was barely halfway done. Oh, how she wished that she could just cut it short again… or at least short_er_. Surely, any length was better than this – well, except for even _longer _hair.

_Onii-sama does not want me to cut my hair_, Yuuki thought. _So I will not cut my hair. I do not want to cause my Onii-sama more pain than he already has to bear… Oh dear, I've become a poet…_

Eventually, the pureblood finished combing through the monstrosity that was her hair. She could only hope that it looked okay – the mirror was still broken (though someone had picked up the dangerous shards of glass that had been scattered all over), so Yuuki couldn't check her reflection to make sure.

Someone had laid out a set of clothes for her to wear; a relatively plain white skirt with black flowers embroidered on the hem, a black button-up shirt, and a matching black silk headband. Yuuki put on the ensemble, wondering who had chosen the outfit. _Ruka, probably…_ she guessed. _Or… Aidou…_ she considered, with a morbid shudder.

Once dressed, the bored vampire exited her private quarters and ambled into the main living room. It was spacious, with a ceiling like a cathedral, decorated with expensive furniture and a beautiful crystal chandelier. Actually, it was very much like the entrance room of the old Moon Dorm – there was even a staircase leading to the upper floor, where the bedchambers and other things were. However, this mansion was much more grand and sparkling (figuratively) than anything at Cross Academy had been.

Yuuki was halfway down those very stairs when the front door opened, and in walked a very drenched Kaname, followed closely by a certain yellow-haired ray of perpetual sunshine.

"Kaname-sama!" she cried in delight, and raced down the rest of the steps to hug her beloved Onii-sama. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Yuuki," he smiled, wrapping his arms around his future wife.

Ichijou felt slightly awkward... so he waved to Ruka, Kain, and Aidou, who were lounging around on the sofas.

"Hey, guys, I survived!" he smiled. When no one paid him much attention (poor Takuma was being overshadowed by Kaname…), he sighed and wandered away, wishing he had some manga to read.

-x-

**My goodness, I just wrote three and a half pages in size 11 font… in three hours. Ugh, I'm such a slow writer… however, I liked this chapter more than the previous few, so it was worth it. Maybe. I won't know unless you review…**

**Oh, yes, I made me-in-the-story Shiki's sister. 'Cause the Shiki family is cool like that – sort of related to the Kurans (enough to have cool powers), but not close enough that they're annoying like Kaname and Rido. Hooray for non-creepy eyes! **

**Additional Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon either. If I did, the whole thing would have been about Hotaru. :P**


	5. Chapter 5: Complete and Utter Betrayal

**Author's Note: Audience? What are you doing on the computer, audience? YOU HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO! YOU HAVE A LIFE! No, just kidding, audience, you actually do **_**not **_**have a life. You are a spamming robot, audience! What, you're not a spamming robot? Well, prove it, and review!**

**Ahem… in a note that makes SENSE, I would like to say that this chapter should be the turning point in the story, where the action starts to truly unfold and my evil plot is put into action! Gahahaha… oh dear, am I writing my first bite scene? Too bad it's Yuki and Kaname… Zero's going to murder me. *panic***

**Third-person!: Reicheru is annoyed because her little sister is stalking her Fanfiction stories. Reicheru would advise her sister not to read this particular story and to go read a K rated one instead… *sigh*. But she probably will not listen. But Reicheru will not censor what the characters want to say unless it's so terrible that Reicheru cannot even write it down. Be warned, Reicheru's sister… be warned. AND AT LEAST REVIEW IF YOU DO READ THIS. ):**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight. If I did, there'd be dragons nomming on vampire ashes all over the place.**

-x-

Ichijou was more than slightly annoyed. He'd just spent the last several months being periodically tortured, interrogated, and just generally abused – even when he got to read manga, Sara would only provide him with Sailor Moon (which he had practically memorized beforehand, so reading it MORE was a form of torture in itself)! And now, upon his return, NO ONE CARED THAT HE LIVED THROUGH ALL OF THAT. He had _scars_, for Christ's sake! SCARS! Did the rest of the former Night Class realize how hard it was to get a vampire to scar? The wound has to be reopened hour after hour after hour, for DAYS, healing more slowly each time until the whole vampire-recovery system just screws up and creates scar tissue.

This lack of concern was irking.

While Takuma was ranting to himself in the hallway, Yuuki was practically fangirling over Kaname, bouncing around the place like a hyper first-grader, happy that the holder of her heart had returned home.

Well… half her heart, more or less.

Yuuki had had to detach herself from her Onii-sama so that he could remove his raincoat. She hadn't taken notice of him being soaking-wet when she hugged him, so now Yuuki was damp too. Perhaps rain had some sort of vendetta against purebloods.

Suddenly, her vision blurred red, and Yuuki's hand instinctively clutched at her burning throat. It was so dry; she was so thirsty…

Kaname frowned slightly, sensing his fiancée's distress. "Do you need a drink, Yuuki?"

She nodded vigorously. Right on cue, the three remaining members of the Night Class got out of their seats (with a fair amount of mumbling – and vicious glares from Ruka), and went out to join the angry 'Mr. Sunshine' in the hallway.

"Do you still remember how to use your fangs?" Kaname inquired as he pulled his sleeve away from his wrist. As the pureblood was wearing a high-collared shirt, his neck was rather impractical for biting at the moment.

Yuuki nodded, and grasped her Onii-sama's hand in both of hers, and leaned slightly forward as she pulled his hand towards her mouth. She drew her lips back, exposing her dangerously sharp fangs, and hovered just above the blood-filled veins in his wrist. The brown-eyed girl glanced up at her fiancée's face, as if she needed permission to bite. Of course she didn't, but Kaname inclined his head anyways.

Sinking inch-long fangs into someone will inevitably hurt them. Rather than chomping Kaname's hand off, Yuuki bit down with just enough pressure to puncture the skin. Immediately, blood started to flow out of the puncture wound, and the hungry vampire sucked it up. She found herself contemplating what it tasted like… there was an overwhelmingly sweet flavor to the liquid, as if it were honey that flowed through her Onii-sama's veins. Mixed with that sugary sensation was another, separate taste that could never be quite described to someone who was not a vampire. Kaname-sama's blood tasted like his love for Yuuki.

The pureblood girl kept on drinking, and drinking, and drinking. But she was still thirsty. Logically, half her thirst should have been sated, since her heart was split evenly into two parts between two people whom she loved. Reason always prevails, right?

Reason must have been having a vacation that evening, because no matter how much of Kaname's blood Yuuki took in, it barely felt like a fourth of the burning in her throat died down. _Barely._

"Yuuki… enough…" Kaname muttered, and the girl who was latched onto his arm immediately drew her fangs out of his skin. In moments, the wound healed up, but Yuuki licked the excess blood away from the bite area.

"Sorry, Onii-sama," she apologized, blushing.

"There's nothing to apologize for," he smiled as he wiped a smudge of red from the corner of Yuuki's mouth.

Out in the hallway, the Night Class seemed to be in the midst of an argument.

"You guys don't _care_ about me!" Ichijou wailed, rubbing his eyes furiously.

"Of course we care about you, vice gang le- I mean, um, vice dorm president," Akatsuki said, a bit lamely.

"Rima and Shiki went looking for you," inserted Ruka in a consoling tone. "Only, um, they didn't find you."

Aidou frowned. "Speaking of those two… where are they, anyways?"

Kain and Ruka shrugged.

"Well… less models hanging around means MORE FANGIRLS FOR MEEEE!" Aidou did a fist-pump, and displayed a manic grin.

"What about Rima's fans?" Kain wondered aloud.

"AND FAN, UM, BOYS, TOO!" Hanabusa did another fist-pump.

Ruka smirked. "I always knew you were gay…"

-x-

Later that night, when it was only a few hours until sunrise, Yuuki was walking past the bedroom doors, thinking about dinner. The group of vampires had consumed a large ham, an enormous bowl of pistachio pudding, two chocolate cakes, and an entire gallon of milk. It had been delicious, but somehow, the pureblood found herself longing for one the Chairman's haphazard "my style" meals. Which was pretty disconcerting, considering the fact that they didn't taste that great… but she and Zero had always eaten them anyways.

Yuuki froze in her footsteps. Oh, no, she'd gone and thought his name… The pureblood shook her head, as if all undesired thoughts would just fall out of her ears. It didn't work.

"Is something wrong?" came a voice from behind her. Yuuki whipped around, startled, only to see Kaname standing there.

"Oh," she blushed, feeling embarrassed, "no, everything's fine, Onii-sama."

"Really?" he asked, disbelieving.

"Yes, really," she responded. It wasn't really lying, was it? After all, no _thing _was wrong… just… thoughts…

"You seemed distracted at dinner."

_Crap._ "Oh, did I?" Yuuki frowned. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Kaname smiled, and then – apparently for no reason – brought his hand to his mouth, and bit his finger.

Yuuki's eyes flashed red with sudden thirst, but she took a step backwards out of confusion.

"You're still so thirsty, even when I fed you mere hours ago…" he muttered. "Is so much of your heart still tied to Kiryuu?"

"I… what… um…" stammered the female vampire, not knowing how to answer, and fighting the urge to tackle her fiancée and bite him. Bite… bite… _bite_…

"Why do you still think about _him_?" Kaname demanded, eyes tinted with crimson rage. He was clearly trying very hard to suppress his anger, though… and bloodlust...

"That's… that's complicated…" Yuuki mumbled, the red fading from her own eyes as the focus on thirst was replaced by a feeling of fear in her gut. It was never something that she felt around her fiancée… only when she had been a human, wandering around town on her own or faced with a Level E, had she ever felt this certain kind of fear.

So why was the terror building as Kaname stepped closer, taking a hold of her wrist?

"I want an answer, Yuuki…" demanded the tall pureblood in a hushed tone, as if he were barely suppressing himself from yelling.

"But…"

He put a finger to her lips. "No excuses. I've waited _ten years_ for you to love me, and I don't like having to share that love with someone like Zero Kiryuu," he whispered in an almost-growl.

This side of Kaname was scaring Yuuki out of her wits. He wasn't like the kind, gentle vampire that she had always admired… it was a more cruel, demanding, _scary_ part of his personality. And she didn't like it one bit.

"Let… let go, Kaname…" she said weakly, trying to pull her hand away. But he just held on tighter, and took another small step nearer to her. At this proximity, the girl noticed that her fiancée's eyes were slowly – but surely – turning a dull ruby color.

_Oh, no, I must have taken too much blood from him earlier… the thirst is making him act like this…_ Yuuki reasoned to herself, but somewhere in her gut, she didn't completely buy that explanation.

"I don't want to," he said, leaning closer to her. "I _really_ would like an explanation…"

"There isn't one, Onii-sama…" she looked up at him with sad eyes.

Kaname's face contorted into a snarl. "Don't look at me with those eyes," he held her wrist more tightly – it was becoming painful. "And call me _Brother_ in that apologetic tone," his voice was becoming louder, "while you're tearing my heart out like this!"

"Don't yell at me!" Yuuki cried, for tears were actually starting to form in her eyes. "I can't help it, especially if you're going to be like _this_!"

At that last statement, the darker-haired pureblood evidently snapped, because he actually _pushed_ Yuuki away from him, and strode into the nearest guest room, shaking his head in disgust.

The push had knocked her down… Yuuki sat there, on the floor, completely stunned for a moment. _Well, I certainly screwed that up…_ thought the cynical little voice in her mind. The vampiress ignored it, though, trying to figure out quickly how to fix this situation.

"Onii- er, KANAME, please, wait!" she called, and got to her feet, then ran to the door that Kaname had used to enter the guest room. "I'm sorry!"

It opened, and Kaname stood in the doorway, head slightly tilted to the side. Yuuki noted that the reddish glow hadn't faded from his eyes… "You didn't use –_sama_…" he mused.

The girl nodded. "You don't want me to add –_sama_, so I'll try and do my best to only call you Kaname or Onii-sama."

Her fiancée nodded approvingly. "Yuuki, come in – there's something that I want tell you."

Curious, – and a bit worried – the pureblooded girl walked into the guestroom. The door shut behind her, and there was a small _click_, like a lock being shut.

"Kana…-wha-AH!" she gasped as the breath was knocked out of her lungs, because Kaname had shoved her against the wall. Since Yuuki was actually _facing_ the wall, she couldn't see him, but felt his fangs pierce the skin on her neck, and his hands holding both of her wrists, pretty much eliminating the slim chance of her struggling.

Yuuki resigned herself to wait until he was done feeding… this was probably her fault, after all, for having taken too much blood herself. She frowned… this was slightly reminding her of the time Zero had needed blood while she had been setting up the dance at Cross Academy… only that hadn't hurt nearly as much as this did. Why was that?

Some time passed… a few minutes. Yuuki's head was starting to feel light. "K-kaname… stop…" she breathed. But she was ignored. "Kaname…!" the pureblood tried again to gain her Onii-sama's attention, to no avail.

It was another minute before the rather hungry vampire released his hold on his fiancée's neck.

"Thank you, Onii-s—"she began, but a bloodstained hand covered her mouth, cutting off her words. Yuuki's eyes widened.

_She was now officially terrified_.

-x-

**WOO, writing evil Kaname is fun! The human/vampire soul can only be strained so far until it snaps… and luckily for this chapter, Yuuki's split love seems to be the crux of Kaname's breaking point… gahahaha. Wait a second. This is… FIVE PAGES LONG? No wonder I ran out of synonyms.**


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